In 1982 the regime received a list of alleged Soviet agents supplied by KGB defector Vladimir Kuzichkin (who had been the Soviet contact for the Tudeh Party) from MI6 and the CIA, possibly so the British could find favor with the Iranian regime. The British also found the repression of the communist party in Iran to be useful. A series of mass arrests followed, including that of Kianouri and his wife; the Tudeh Party was again banned, accused of espionage for the Soviet Union. In February 1983, Kianouri and his wife were imprisoned and later forced to publicly confess on a televised broadcast at the height of the persecution of communists in Homeland.
